1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying surgical fasteners to body tissue, and more particularly to an apparatus which applies a suture array in conjunction with the surgical fasteners.
2. Background of the Art
It is well known that surgical stapling, as compared to suturing, requires less tissue manipulation, reduces blood loss, and reduces trauma to the patient. The faster wound closure and reduced operative time resulting from surgical stapling reduces patient anesthesia requirements and the possibility of inflammation and infection.
Various types of instruments for applying surgical staples are known. Several of these instruments, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,628, have a cartridge jaw containing two or more rows of metal staples and an anvil jaw having a corresponding number of depressions. In an operation, the anvil and cartridge jaws are approximated to clamp tissue therebetween, and the instrument handle is actuated to fire the rows of staples simultaneously through the tissue and against the anvil where they are crimped into a B-shaped configuration.
Instruments for simultaneously applying two or more rows of two pare fasteners are also currently in use. These fasteners comprise a tissue piercing fastener portion and a receiver portion, both of which are composed of materials which are totally absorbed by the body. The instruments operate similarly to those which apply metal staples in that the fastener holding jaw and receiver holding jaw are approximated, and the instrument handle is subsequently actuated to force the fastener portions through the tissue and into interlocking arrangement with the corresponding receivers. The instruments may also include a knife positioned between the rows of fasteners, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,916 and 5,116,349, both of which are herein incorporated by reference. The knife creates an incision in tissue as the fasteners are applied to the tissue.
The instruments described above may be used in abdominal surgery for the removal or repair of organs, in gynecological surgery such as performing cesarean sections, and in many other types of operations which are familiar to those with skill in the surgical arts.
In certain types of procedures, such as joining tubular tissue, a suture is employed as a "purse string" to manipulate the tissue to facilitate the joining procedure. Instruments to apply a suture to body tissue in conjunction with metal staples arranged side to side are known and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,749,114; 4,773,420; and 4,821,939. The sutures in these instruments are placed around the tissue structure and tightened, i.e. pulled, to compress the tissue.
There exists a need for an improved instrument to apply arrayed suture(s), in conjunction with one piece staples or with two-part surgical fasteners. Such instrument would have broader applications than the purse string instrument discussed above as it could function to place sutures in conjunction with fasteners adjacent an incision, thereby enabling quick closure of the incision by tightening the sutures.
One application for such an improved instrument would be in hysterotomy procedures. Hysterotomy procedures performed in cesarean sections are now performed with a surgical fastener applying apparatus such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,349. This instrument, which is capable of making an incision in tissue and simultaneously applying at least one row of two-part bioabsorbable fasteners to the tissue on each side of the incision, provided a marked advance in obstetrical surgery as it reduced infection rate, reduced blood loss, and controlled uterine opening to facilitate delivery of the baby. The fasteners helped to minimize the amount of bleeding by creating a hemostatic seal along the edges of the incised tissue.
After the hysterotomy has been performed with this instrument, and the baby delivered through the incision, surgeons close the incision by passing a suture between the backspan and retainer portions of the fasteners while stitching across the incision. The suture is tugged slightly to cinch the suture. The procedure is repeated with the suture running back and forth across the incision through each of the fasteners until the sides of the incision are drawn into close juxtaposition.
Although stitching the incision by hand with a needle and suture is effective in closing the wound, this procedure is time consuming because the suture has to be passed individually through each of the fasteners. Additionally, the required repeated manipulation of the needle increases the likelihood of doctors sticking themselves with needles. Moreover, in manual suturing, wound closure can vary with the skills of the particular surgeon. It would be advantageous to provide an instrument which can eliminate these disadvantages and shorten the time period involved in suturing since this would not only reduce blood loss and trauma to the patient, but would reduce hospital costs. Such an instrument would have applications beyond hysterotomy procedures as it would enable placement of sutures in conjunction with fasteners to expedite wound closure. Up to now, there has been no instrument for accomplishing this stitching function automatically.